Toast with Sweet Condensed Milk: My Version of Simple and Delectable Breakfast

Breakfast is not my thing, actually. I'm not the kind of person who sweat it out just to cook breakfast from scratch. But, sometimes I'm flexible about it. Just few days ago, I was craving for something sweet and salty. Imagining something melt down on my bread made my mouth watery. So, I just thought I had to make something. And I remember I've ever seen a famous chef made this simple breakfast somewhere with bread. So, I started my own quest in my kitchen. I had my bread, and some other ingredients, and voilà!

This is my super easy breakfast, you can even make it with your eyes closed! haha! Here is the simple recipe:

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread

3-4 tsp salted butter or margarine (or to taste. I used plenty :))

3-4 tsp sweet condensed milk (or to taste) 

Method:

Melt  half portion of the butter in the pan using low heat. After it melt, add a slice of bread and toast it until it becomes golden brown. Let the butter absorbed through the bread. Then flip it. Again, let the butter seep through its other side and becomes golden brown. Take it out. Repeat the process with the other slice of bread, and put the bread on a plate. Pour sweet condensed milk over it. 

Then you'll have a delicious breakfast with no sweat at all! Believe it or not, that day I enjoyed my morning completely: watching my favorite series on TV and eating my breakfast over a glass of orange juice. Heaven!

The Power of Three: Garlic, Chili, Salt

I always love  spicy foods. Just give me anything spicy and I will eat it, hahaha! And I love the combination of garlic, chilli and salt. I like to call those: 'The Power of Three', because if I have them in my kitchen I don't have to worry about how to cook anything, and anything I cook with them will definitely turn out great, at least okay. 'Anything' means nearly anything, mostly. And to be honest, I don't like to complicate things with so many ingredients and spices. Simple food is the best. And those three are the best in my down days.

These three can go along with anything in my fridge. You can match them with broccoli, sugarpeas, pak coy, carrots. I even cooked my spaghetti with them, and then add a little beef bacon if you want, you can call it: spaghetti aglio olio. Simply delicious! So far my favorite dish is Simple Spicy Carrots. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients: 

2 Carrots (medium size, sliced thinly)

2 tsp of oil/butter/margarine

1 clove of garlic (sliced thinly)

2 chillies, chopped roughly

salt to taste

Method:

In medium heat, toss sliced carrots into pan with oil/butter/margarine. Stir occasionally until the carrots are all covered with oil. Lower the heat. Then, add garlic, chillies, and salt. Continuously stirred until the carrots are wilted.Then it's ready to serve.

Serve with cooked rice for 2-3 persons.

You can also cook meat with those three. I've already tried them with corned beef and tuna, all is delicious! And, there's also another reason why I called them The Power of Three, because when I have them, I'm in power! :)

Changing Habit, The Side Effect of Kitchen Remodeling

I've never thought that kitchen remodeling could change your habit. Surprise...surprise! After I've put all my stuffs to my new cabinets, I've just realized something. This new kitchen is totally different than my last one. The location of the shelfs, the racks, the cabinets, the sink, even the stove was all changed. Well, it's not a bad thing actually, but after 10 years of putting things in the same place, this habit actually needs change.

Believe it or not, I had to stand there and think for about 10 seconds  remembering where I had to place my dishes. I had to squeeze my brain out to remember where I put the plates, pans, spoons, forks, etc. It's like doing things all over again. That never occurred to me before. Even, I had to learn how to ignite the stove, since it's totally a different type. And, there were many things else that I must adjust. Truthfully, it's not that simple, or easy. I think I need a week or two to adapt myself with my so called new kitchen.

Right now, I feel like I've already 'understood' it. Everything runs smoothly, and I don't have to stand there and try to remember where my plate's rack is, or in which drawer I have to put my knife. And...you know what? It got me thinking that... this changing habit thing, it doesn't only work in the kitchen. It works in every area of our life, philosophically speaking. One thing for sure, our habit can be changed if we don't have the choice. Do you think so?

How Hard It is to Get Your Dream Kitchen

I think kitchen remodelling is a tricky business. Since I didn't have a fortune to use a high-end professional kitchen contractor, I preferred to hire a local contractor instead. The price is much cheaper of course. And in the beginning, the contractor said that he would do his best to make his customer happily satisfied (well, don't they always say the same?).

After some discussion about design and cost, we decided to proceed. We've already made comparison with some other local contractors, and he's the most expensive. But, I think he's the one who can exactly read what I have in mind. And, it's hard to find that kind of contractor. So, after paying the half of his fee, he promised that he would finish the remodelling in just 3 weeks, and would installed the cabinets, sink, electricity, etc to our satisfaction. In other word, he agreed to do the making and the installation as well.

But, in week 2, he suddenly went under the radar. No words. I had the feeling that he hid something or else. So, we tried to reach out several times, and finally he answered the phone. He said his workshop just moved, because the landlord wanted to sell the place. Along with this notification, he also told us that he couldn't meet the previous deadlines, and...he asked us to pay a third of the rest of the payment. Well, I didn't see it coming, but we paid it anyway.

Briefly, after waiting another 3 weeks, the kitchen set was ready. It took almost 5 days to install the cabinets, etc, and we have to make some adjustments that we didn't predict before. He also asked us to buy some more stuffs to complete the installation, which, again, we didn't see it coming either. But, we agreed to do that since it didn't cost a lot of money. During the work, one of his men broke our washing machine pipe. My husband said that the cost would be deducted from the fee, and he seemed not too happy about it.

After all set, here comes the payment day. Since he couldn't come himself (he said he had work to do. Don't we all?), he sent his brother to pick up the rest of the payment. But...after we gave him the money, suddenly he held out another bill. What???? It turned out to be all the charges of his 'other' works, such as the removal of our old cabinets, the sink placement, . Okay, we could agree on that one, but the rest? He didn't say a word about it. He never discussed  with us about the additional charges. This really made us upset. Moreover, the finishing touch didn't meet our satisfaction. We've complained about this and all, and he didn't say much to his defense. However, we decided to still pay the bill. But, in last minute, he said we just had to pay the removal fee. Well, okay, it did ease us a little. But still the disappointment is still there, and we don't think we can hire that person again in the future. So, right now, we decide to do what he left for, the detailed finishing touch. Not really a happy ending for kitchen remodelling experience, but I'm still happy with my new kitchen, moreover I have a new stove and oven. I hope many more delicious cooking will come from this as well.

Buku Resep Kebetan

Bagi orang yang senang memasak, memiliki buku resep pasti merupakan keharusan. Bahkan untuk seorang koki sekalipun, buku resep itu tetap dibutuhkan. Karena buku resep itu ibarat ensiklopedia, sumber dari segala pengetahuan masak-memasak. Memang sekarang sudah ada internet. Kita bisa browsing resep, nggak perlu beli buku, lebih murah dan praktis. Tapi komputer sepertinya kurang praktis dibawa-bawa ke dapur, apalagi kalau butuh contekan. Paling enak nyontek langsung dari buku resep. Mau buku resep beli atau buku resep hasil klipingan sendiri.

Saya termasuk orang yang senang mengumpulkan buku resep. Terutama resep-resep yang sekiranya doable lah. Makanya sampai sekarang belum pernah punya buku resep tentang sushi, karena sepertinya lebih enak dimakan di restoran. Saya juga bukan koki, biarpun senang berlagak seperti koki, alias sok tahu. Jadinya saya masih perlu belajar trik-trik memasak, biarpun tak perlu canggih-canggih amat. Makanya buku resep itu sudah seperti buku wajib buat saya kalau untuk memasak.

Walaupun, tak selalu juga saya mengebet buku resep setiap kali memasak. Buku itu hanya semacam pegangan. Seringkali saya malah menyederhanakan prosesnya. Asal jadi, tapi tetep enak kok, hehehe. Buku resep terbitan luar negeri juga menjadi koleksi. Mahal? Nggak juga. Buku-buku resep luar negeri saya selalu dibeli dalam keadaan diskon. Jadinya harganya tak pernah lebih mahal dari 100 ribu.

Kalau ada yang bertanya, kenapa beli buku banyak-banyak apalagi kalau topiknya sama? Jawabnya sederhana, karena setiap buku itu berbeda. Pengarang beda, isi juga beda. Saya memiliki beberapa buku tentang cupcake, dan ternyata setiap buku memiliki trik-trik yang berbeda. Setiap terbitan baru malah memuat trik terbaru untuk membuat cupcake agar lebih yummy dan lembut teksturnya. Karena dunia kuliner itu juga berputar lho, ikut berkembang sesuai jaman. Itu juga baru saya ketahui dari buku-buku resep. Dan saya selalu memilih buku resep yang memberikan tips dan trik, kalau perlu sejarah kuliner, biar nggak rugi-rugi amat karena sudah mengeluarkan uang.

Jadi memang tak perlu ragu, kok, buat beli buku resep. Tak perlu gengsi juga, karena takut dianggap bodoh di dapur. Si Mbah dulu kalau masak nggak pernah liat buku resep, secara si Mbah memang buta huruf, semua pengetahuan masak-memasaknya diwariskan turun-temurun oleh orangtuanya. Lha, tapi saya bukan si Mbah mendiang nenek saya, saya mau lebih ahli dari si Mbah hehehehe